


Budding Roses

by CantarellaRose



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, THE iDOLM@STER: SideM
Genre: (points to timeline) this? this is my bitch now, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Panic Attacks, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, RoseP-verse, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert OC, Tags Are Hard, no one is straight, shachou almost gets pepper sprayed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2020-12-31 02:36:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21051995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CantarellaRose/pseuds/CantarellaRose
Summary: Yamada Rose was a normal high schooler used to sticking to the background. Just being another member of life's ensemble.That all changes when a certain Saitou Takashi offers her a position as a producer at the recently established 315 Productions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Holy fuck how did I manage to write all this in like, the span of two days this is a new record for me holy shit.  
Btw here's two designs I made up for RoseP  
https://twitter.com/cantarella_rose/status/1184307682108497920?s=20

That day had started out just like any other school day for me. Waking up at 6:50 in the morning and then getting dressed. Preparing my breakfast, after I had finished eating I’d get Mom’s tea ready for her as she was already on her way out. She told me I was the best and then left for work. Not too long after her, I’d be on my way to school.

When I got on the train, I thought I felt someone watching me. I shrugged it off though. My damn paranoia loves to go off at any given time, it’s really lovely to deal with on a daily basis. Nothing particularly interesting had happened at school that day. Well, other than that math test but I’d rather not talk about that. There was that kid with the spiky hair and pink glasses who came up to me afterward and said he probably bombed too, at least it wasn’t just me.

The train ride home I felt like I was being watched again. I tried to ignore it like that morning, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling off. Even after getting off the train, I felt someone watching me. Like an idiot, I didn’t pay mind to it until I was almost to my neighborhood. I stopped walking, reached into my bag, and then whipped around.

I held the can up, “Get the fuck away from me or else I-”

A loud, booming laugh made me nearly drop my pepper spray. Well, I was right about someone following me. He was fairly muscular, and tall. _ Very _ tall. And I thought my brother was the tallest person I knew. “Good afternoon, Yamada Rose!”

“I-what.” I sputtered, “How in the fuck do you know my name? Who are you anyway?!”

He let out another hearty laugh and pointed a thumb to his chest, “I am Saitou Takashi! President of 315 Productions!”

“315 Productions?” I blinked, “Never heard of it.”

“That’s because I've only just established it!” If this were an anime, he'd have some sort of "kira-kira" light around him or something, "And we're searching for passionate idols who want a fresh start!"

"Well, I'm not interested in being an idol, so-"

"Oh no no no!" Saitou quickly shushed me, "315Pro will specialize in male idols, but we also need producers!"

A beat of silence, then-

"_ Ehhh?!?! _" The can finally fell from my hand. "Me? An idol producer!? But I'm not even an idol fan! Besides, I'm just a high schooler, is that even legal?"

"No need to worry, Yamada Rose!" He pointed to me, "You may doubt yourself now, but you have unlimited passion within!" Before I could even reply, he handed me a business card. "Come by tomorrow, we can discuss this in detail later!"

“W-wait you still haven’t told me how you know my na-”

And just like that, I was all alone. I took a look at the business card. It had a logo that looked like a bird spreading its wings with the number “315” emblemized throughout. The card also had the address and phone number for the agency.

Well, it wasn't like I had any other plans the next day anyway.

~

I had gone to 315 Productions after school that day. It would have taken too long to go home, drop off my shit, get changed, and head to the agency.

315Pro was located on the second floor of a rather tall building near a street corner in Tokyo. Since there was a cafe on the first floor, I initially thought I had the wrong address. However, a little old lady who worked at the cafe told me that I had the right one, just the wrong floor.

So, there I was, standing in front of the door to 315 Productions.

Come on, Rose, it’s not that hard, just open the door. No wait there’s a doorbell. Just ring the bell, it’s not that difficult. _ Oh just do it already you damn coward. _

I slowly pressed the button. No sound. I rang again. Nothing. Again. Still nothing. Is the bell broken or something? I reached to knock on the door. The initial tap pushed the door open slightly. Broken bell and an unlocked and open door? Why do I have a bad feeling about this.

“Excuse me, hello?” I cracked the door open some more, “Is anyone here?”

Poking my head in, I could see boxes strewn about the office. The lights were on, so there had to be someone here. 

As I stepped inside, I heard footsteps from around a corner in the office. “I’m so sorry!” A young man with short, dark green hair ran out, “We’re still in the process of setting things up, so please excuse the mess!” He pushed his red glasses to his head, poor guy was out of breath.

“Um, that’s ok?” I stammered out, “The other day I ran into a man claiming to be the president of this place. He also said that he wanted me to visit here today, too.”

“Ah!” the man shot up, “Shachou did mention he found someone fitting to be a produc-” He trailed off as his gaze finally met mine.

Oh, right. Because I didn’t go home and get changed I was still in my school uniform. I still had my school bag with me, too.

Well, no better time for an introduction. “My name is Yamada Rose, I’m seventeen-years-old and a third year in high school.” I extended my hand to him, “Nice to meet you, mister.”

There was a blank look on his face, but he quickly snapped out of it and shook my hand. “Yamamura Ken,” he replied, “I’m the secretary here.” A nervous look crossed Ken’s face, “Although, I wasn’t expecting Shachou to recruit a high school student for a producer.”

“That makes two of us.” I awkwardly laughed, “I appreciate the offer, but I just don’t think I’m qualified enou-.”

“Is the door supposed to be wide open?” A light, boyish voice from the entrance interrupted me. Something about it sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t place my finger on where I’d heard it before.

“Perhaps someone arrived shortly before us and just forgot to close the door?” The voice was smoother and deeper than the first, why did it sound familiar too?

A third voice, it was lighter than the second but definitely not as light as the first. Bringing out my theatre kid-ness, I’d say he could almost be a baritone. “The bell isn’t working, so might as well go in.” That voice too… 

When they entered the room I thought I was going to have a fucking stroke. A short boy (he’s like two centimeters shorter than me, let me have this) with green hair, a tall man with styled blonde hair, and a boy with reddish-brown hair and a mildly moody expression. I didn’t even need to be an idol fan to know exactly who they were.

What the fuck. _ What the fuck_. What in the actual FUCK. By all laws of nature, it should have been physically impossible for a nobody like me to be in the same Goddamn room as _ Jupiter_.

“Oh?” Hokuto laid a hand on his chin, “Did an Angel-chan find out about us before the announcement?”

“Oh no no no no!” I could feel the color draining from my face, “I was actually just about to-”

“I scouted her to be our PASSIONATE producer!”

Jesus, as if the first heart attack wasn’t enough. Saitou must have some sort of superpower to just phase into existence, ANYWHERE at any time.

“Her? A producer?” Shouta glanced over at me, “But, isn’t she a high schooler?”

“Y-y-yeah!” I tried to regain my composure, “As I was saying with Ken here earlier, I’m only seventeen and still in school.” I twisted the strap of my bag, one of my more recent nervous habits, “I’m probably one of the least qualified people you could get for a job like this.” 

“Nonsense!” Saitou waved a finger at me, “I knew from the moment I saw you. You have the passion needed for this agency!”

Something in me must have finally snapped at that point. “And just how do you know that?” My fingers clenched around my bag’s strap, “I’m just some no name background character! And you expect me to be able to not just become an idol producer, but produce _ fucking Jupiter _?!” I could feel tears leaking from my eyes. Ah, stress tears, my old friend. “I…I can’t.” I hiccupped, “I… ” 

_ I’d just fail and fuck everything up. _

Someone tugged at my arm. I turned my head to come face-to-face with Touma. He guided me towards one of the couches in the lobby of the office. Touma looked at Ken, “Can you get her some water?”

Ken nodded and ran off to where the office kitchen was. Shouta quietly sat down next to me. “Here,” he handed me a handful of tissues.

Murmuring a thank you, I took the tissues and began dabbing at my eyes and cheeks. “I’m really sorry about this all.” My voice came out all croaky.

“There’s no need to apologize about a panic attack.” said Touma in an understanding tone. Around that time Ken had come back and handed me a tall glass of water.

“Thank you.” I took a small sip. 

Hokuto and Touma had ended up helping Saitou and Ken with unpacking the boxes. Meanwhile, Shouta was telling me stories about his unitmates and some of the shenanigans he got himself (and occasionally the other two) into.

“Despite how cool Touma-kun is,” Shouta kicked up a leg onto the table, which warranted a mild scolding from Ken, “he actually has a hard time talking to girls!”

I held a hand up to my mouth to stifle an ugly snort. Behind us, I could hear Hokuto also chuckling lightly.

“I can hear you!” If looks could kill Shouta would have been a pile of ash right then and there.

Letting out a small laugh, I put my now empty glass on the table. I put my hands in my lap and stared down at them.

Shouta put a hand on my shoulder, “You good?”

“I may be acting a tad rash, but,” I looked up, “I think I’ve come to a decision.” I stood up and walked right up to Saitou himself, “I accept your offer, Shachou!”

~

“And, perfect!” I took a step back, admiring my work.

Ken peered over, “It looks great, Producer-san!”

I let myself sink into the leather swivel chair I’d bought with my own money. “Damn straight!” I swiveled around to my nice, clean desk, complete with a sleek new laptop (courtesy of Shachou), “Knowing how I work, though, it won’t be this clean for very long.”

“What’s going on over here?” Swiveling my chair around, there stood Touma.

“Unpacking is officially finished!” I threw my arms up in the air, “Plus, Ken and I have our own little cubicles.”

Touma nodded, “I can see that, looks nice.”

I got out of the chair (the very nice, and comfy chair), “So, is there anything you need from us?”

“Well, actually,” he replied, “I did want to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” I asked him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ken leaving to go run an errand for Shachou.

Touma glanced over his shoulder for a moment, then looked back at me. “About last week, the day we first met.”

“Oh, yeah. Not exactly a great first impression, huh?” A dry laugh left my lips.

He shook his head, “That’s not the point. You see, I…” Touma trailed off for a second, “I, also sometimes have breakdowns and such, like you.”

I was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you for telling me.” I laughed as a thought came to me, “It’s as the saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together,’ huh?”

Touma laughed too. He then stuck out his fist to me, “So, from now on, Jupiter and I will be in your care, Producer-san!”

I grinned and returned the fistbump, “Likewise, Touma!”

From that day forward was the start of my, no, _our_ Cinderella tale.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started working on this chapter the day I posted Ch1 one and now it's done  
perhaps I'll start on Ch3 this weekend  
I'm busy with rehearsal for my school's show and have hw Fun Times

It hadn’t even been two weeks when solo jobs started rolling in for each member of Jupiter. The first big one was a mini-live at a local hospital, something to cheer up the patients. Touma had been the one to accept the offer. However, there was one small problem.

“Neither of us are old enough to drive.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Hokuto’s busy on that day, too. So he’s out.”

“Even if I put on a disguise, there’s always a chance of someone recognizing me if we do the bus or the train.” Touma added.

“Same with a cab.” I groaned, “Plus, it’d be even worse if I was mistaken for a girlfriend or something.” It wasn't exactly public at the time that I was Jupiter's new producer.

Touma cringed, “Please, I don’t even want to _ think _ about something like that.”

Putting my face in my hands, I groaned again. “Our options are just getting smaller and smaller.”

“Oh dear, is everything all right over here?” I lifted my face out of my hands to see Ishikawa standing not too far from us. Shachou hired them as another producer not too long after Jupiter and I had joined. Due to how recently they started working at 315Pro, I didn’t even know their first name.

A lightbulb went off in my head. “Hey Ishi,” I turned to them, “You have a car, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Well, we have a huge favor to ask of you.”

~

“We should be finished here at around 4:30pm.”

“I’ll be sure to come by then to pick you two up.”

“Again, thank you so much for doing this, Ishi.” I sighed in relief.

They let out a light laugh, “It’s no big deal, I’m always glad to help!”

“Well, tell Hokuto to break a leg for me!” Ishikawa gave me a weird look. Oh, right. “It’s how you say ‘good luck’ in the theatre.” 

“Ah so.” Ishikawa nodded, “I’ll be sure to pass your message to him.”

I waved to them as they got back into their car and drove off. So, now we’re on our own until then. I pulled out my phone to check the time, we had arrived about an hour early.

“Looks like we have plenty of time to kill.” Touma commented leaning over to look at my phone, “Nice wallpap-wait a minute, isn’t that an idol?”

I quickly shoved my phone back into my pocket. “None of your business, buster.”

“Isn’t she with 765Pro?” His voice took on a teasing tone. I am going to kill him. “What was her name again? Ah, Makoto!”

I could feel my face growing flushed in embarrassment, “Ok, I admit, I decided to check out some other idols after I accepted this job. I may or may not have become a fan of certain ones.” I glared at him, “You blab to the other two and you’re a dead man, Amagase Touma.”

Touma stepped back, “Alright, alright. I’ll stop, besides, blabbing to everyone is Shouta’s thing.”

For the next few minutes, we had just talked about random shit that popped into our heads while wandering the halls. The new anime I started watching, the new gunpla figurine Touma just bought, him trying to get me into the series the figure was based on (second time today and fifth time this week he’s tried to convert me). At some point he started rambling about a pair of twin soccer players he’s a huge fan of. Man, it felt exactly like I was talking to my older brother.

As we turned a corner, something caught my ear. Someone in the distance was singing, and they had an absolutely beautiful voice. I tapped Touma on the shoulder, "You go ahead to the green room. I'll catch up with you later."

"Are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I just want to look around a bit." I said, “Besides, I know where the dressing room is and where the area roped off for the live is.”

“If you insist.” he shrugged, “Don’t be late.” Touma then walked off.

My ears led me past a door to the small garden the hospital had (I think I heard someone in the hall refer to it as a therapeutic garden). A man with black hair and glasses was sitting on a bench in the garden and singing softly to himself. Based on his white coat and stethoscope around his shoulders, he was more than likely one of the hospital’s doctors.

“You have a beautiful voice.” I blurted out.

The man stopped singing and shot up from the bench. His gaze eventually landed on me, “Since when did you get here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” I said, “It’s just, your singing was stunning.”

“My singing was…?” He seemed to have been caught off-guard for a moment, though he quickly composed himself, “Who in the world are you?”

I gleefully handed him a business card (an actual, legit business card!),“Yamada Rose! I’m a producer with 315 Productions!”

With a bit of a confused look, the man took the card from me. He looked down at the card, then back up at me, “An entertainment agency? For what purpose would you want from a doctor like me?”

“You could be an idol with that sort of voice!”

A beat of silence, then he scoffed, “Scout someone else.I have no interest in standing out nor being involved with such a frivolous industry.”

Alright then, this requires force. “You could make a lot of money from being an idol.”

His expression changed from sour to almost curious. “A lot of money?” he repeated. I gave him an affirming nod. “Let’s talk this over then.”

Holy shit that was all it took to convince him.

“What’s with the shocked look? If I were to become an idol, I could earn a lot of money, you said so yourself. Depending on the rest of your proposal, there’s a high chance I will accept your offer.”

I put up a hand, “Before we get to that, I’d like to ask for your name, sir.”

He cleared his throat, then looked me right in the eye. “Sakuraba Kaoru.”

~

I tossed a water bottle to Touma, “Great work today.”

“Thank you.” He caught the bottle with ease. “What was that about earlier? When you told me to go ahead of you.”

A smirk crossed my face, “I may or may not have just scouted another idol for the agency!”

“Is that so?” He took a long sip, “Good work to you too, then.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Maybe soon we’ll be big enough to, oh I don’t know, be at an event with 765’s Mak-”

I snatched the bottle from his hands, capped it, then whacked him lightly on the head with it, “Get changed, jackass. Ishi’ll be here for us soon.”

Grumbling something about dropping the teasing “for real this time,” Touma got up from the chair and left the room. Not too long after that, I felt something bounce off my ankle. I looked down to see, a soccer ball?

“Sorry about that, Oneesan!” A short boy with orange hair and crutches hobbled over to me. His voice was fairly nasally and high with a playful air to it. “Little hard to keep it in place with these.” he nodded towards his crutches. Now that he was right in front of me, I could see the brace on his left knee. 

I laughed, “It’s alright, er…”

“Yuusuke!” he chirped, “Aoi Yuusuke!” Why do I feel like I’ve seen and heard of him before

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Yuusuke.” I glanced back down at the ball. “Oh!” I knelt down and scooped it up, “Would you like me to bring this back to your room?”

He nodded, “Thanks, Oneesan! Follow me!” The room he was staying in wasn’t too far from our starting point. I put the ball on the small table beside the hospital bed. “Hey, Oneesan,” Yuusuke cocked his head towards me, “are you some kind of office lady?”

Considering my outfit, I could see how he’d think that. I had on black slacks and a jacket with a crisp, white top and a pair of black-and-white flats. I let out a small chuckle, “Similar, but not quite. I’m a producer for a talent agency.”

He sat down on the bed, carefully putting his crutches to the side. “A producer, huh.” Curiosity glinted in his eyes, “What does a producer do?”

“It’s my job to manage my agency’s idols. Guess one could also say it’s my job to bring out the charm of each of them.” I found myself giggling at my last statement. “In fact, the reason I was here today was for a job one of them had accepted.”

“That’s kinda like a soccer coach!” Yuusuke kicked out his good leg, “Like how coaches assign team positions based on a player’s potential!”

“You must really like soccer, huh Yuusuke?” I eyed the soccer ball again.

He grinned, “Of course! My brother and I are professional soccer players, after all!”

That’s it! I’d seen him in various magazines and on TV if Mom or I left it on during a soccer game. Wait, brother? If I’m remembering correctly, Touma told me earlier the twins he’s a fan of had the last name Aoi. Oh if only he’d stuck around another moment or two.

“Yuusuke? Are you talking with someone?” A boy who looked damn near identical to Yuusuke stuck his head through the doorway. If weren’t for his green framed glasses, I’d have virtually no way of telling their faces apart. His voice was much less nasally than Yuusuke’s, slightly lower too. 

“Kyousuke!” He reached for his crutches and hobbled over to him, “I was just chatting with Oneesan!”

“Oneesan?” Kyousuke’s gaze flicked over to me.

I chuckled sheepishly, “My name is Yamada Rose. I didn’t get the opportunity to properly introduce myself to Yuusuke earlier.”

“Aoi Kyousuke.” he said, “I hope my brother hasn’t troubled you too much, Rose-san.”

Either Yuusuke didn’t hear what his brother said or he was just ignoring it, “She’s like an idol coach!”

“Producer.” I corrected him, I pulled out a business card to show them, “The agency I’m with was established quite recently, so we’re still fairly unknown.”

Kyousuke took the card, “This is almost like a scout, isn’t it?”

“A-ah!” An embarrassed flush rose up to my cheeks, “I actually did scout someone earlier, guess I’m still stuck in that sort of mode.” I looked and saw the clock on the wall at 4:50. “Oh dear, I have to get going.”

Yuusuke waved at me as I left the room. “Bye bye, Yamada-san!” 

~

"Touma!" I ran up to him outside of the hospital.

Touma looked up from his phone, "I was just about to text you, what took so long this time?"

I felt a smug expression appear on my face, "I may have scouted two more idols for us! Plus I think you'd be interested in them."

"You're really on a roll today." he laughed, “What makes you say that I’d be interested.”

In a nonchalant voice I said, “Well, their names are Aoi Kyousuke and Aoi Yuusuke.”

Touma looked ready to fucking stroke out. “Wait, as in _ THE _ Aoi brothers?!” I nodded. “Y-you better not have told them anything weird about me! Especially not to Kyousuke-san!”

“Relax, relax, I didn’t say anything abo- Wait a sec.” I slowly turned to him. “You know, Touma. If I didn’t know any better,” I could feel a mischievous smirk make its way across my face, “I’d say you have a crush on Kyousuke!”

Touma’s face burned bright crimson, “N-no! I don't! I absolutely don't have a crush!”

“I can see it now!” I threw an arm around his shoulder, “Amagase Touma and Aoi Kyousuke, sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-”

_ “PRODUCER-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!” _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Researching for this chapter makes me wish I could read D@ys of Jupiter

We were about halfway through the day when Hokuto had asked me, “By any chance, are you free this Sunday?”

I didn’t look up from the essay I was typing (I may be an idol producer but I still was in high school), “Yeah, why?”

“Perfect then!” he said, “The shopping district should be just crowded enough for us to blend in.”

“Wh-whoa, wait just a minute!” I stopped typing and looked over at him, “Did you just ask me out on a  _ date? _ ”

Hokuto chuckled, “Only as friends! Despite what Kuroi put me up to, high school girls aren’t my type in the slightest.”

“Sure, but why do you want to meet up with me anyway?”

He looked me right in the eye, “I’d like to learn more about you, Producer.”

~

If I were to go back in time and tell my younger self that her first date (platonic, but still a date) would be with Ijuuin fucking Hokuto, she’d laugh right in my face. 

It didn’t take very long for me to find him. First of all, he’s tall (not as tall as my brother, but still pretty tall), and his hat added to his height. He had a pair of thin, silver frames on as well. I was thankful for the small crowd that gathered at the shopping district, it helped us to not really stand out. Another thing that helped was the guy by the flower shop in a frog costume handing out balloons to people. That did help in distracting people, in a sense.

“Why don’t we start from the beginning?” Hokuto suggested.

I gave him a look, “The beginning? What do you mean by that?”

“Introducing ourselves.” he said, “We didn’t have much of a proper introduction, after all.”

“Good point.” I took a moment to clear my throat, “Well, my name’s Yamada Rose, seventeen-years-old, third-year in high school.”

“Rose,” he repeated, “Now that’s an uncommon name here.”

I let out a small chuckle, “Yeah. I’m half-American, father’s side. Used to live in America, New York to be exact.”

“What brought you all the way from New York to here?” His voice was filled with curiosity.

I paused for a moment, “Parents divorced, Mom went back to her maiden name and I changed to it as well. We moved here about four years ago after the big split. My brother lives with us too, but he goes to college back in America.”

He gave me an understanding nod, “That must have been tough on you all.”

All I could do was solemnly nod back. “What about you?” I looked back up at him, “What’s your story?”

“As you know, I’m Ijuuin Hokuto, twenty-years-old, formerly of 961 Productions. Now I work with you at 315 Productions.”

“If you don’t mind me probing, what was it like at 961? Other than the big cheese himself being a complete shitbag.” I asked, daring to bite the bullet.

To my surprise, Hokuto stifled a laugh at that, “You sound just like Touma.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Good.” He assured me, “Getting back on track now, while he had the wool pulled over our eyes, working at 961Pro wasn’t that bad. Job offers around every corner; no matter where you look, your name was plastered everywhere. As expected from one of, if not the top talent agency in Japan.” A frown crossed his face, “But, then the day of reckoning came, the three of us found out the ugly truth. That Kuroi bribed his way to the top. That he lied to us about 765 Productions. We quit on the spot that day, none of us could stand to stay there knowing we were only at the top because of his methods.” He was quiet, but then spoke again, “It’s been a year since then, since we didn’t have Sanjouba-san anymore, I had to take over her duties while we were freelance.”

“Pardon the interruption but,” I piped up, “Who is Sanjouba-san?”

“Sanjouba Shizuka, she was our producer when we were still with 961.” He explained, “Unlike Kuroi, she earnestly tried her best to help us succeed. However, we lost contact after we quit.”

“I’m sure she must be a great producer, though I hope she can find somewhere better than 961 Productions someday.”

Hokuto laughed, “That’s something we can both agree on.”

There was a tap on my shoulder, turning around I came face to face with the mouth of the frog costume. God that suit was so much bigger when you’re actually standing next to it. They stuck out their arm to us, various multi-colored balloons tied to the hand of the costume.

“Sad look, you two!” A bright, young-sounding voice came from the costume, which caught both Hokuto and I off-guard. “One take, please!”

I carefully untied a blue balloon from their hand and took it, “Thank you.” They extended their hand over to Hokuto, who also took a blue balloon. “Same favorite color, huh?”

“You two, happy smile have now!” They excitedly exclaimed, “Have good day, mister! And pretty lady!” Before I could even muster a reply, they had already turned and bounded back to their post.

"Guess that's the cue to change to a lighter subject?" He gently suggested.

I was still somewhat taken aback from the "pretty lady" comment. "G-good idea!" I stammered, "Uh, um, how about, shit. Ah! Before you debuted with Jupiter! What were you doing before that?"

"Before Jupiter, huh." A nostalgic expression crossed his features, "I was still in university, I also did modelwork."

Now that he mentioned that, I feel like I've seen him in some older magazines Mom owns. "What did you do in university?"

"Majored in Business." Well, can't say I expected that. "There was also the tennis club, where I met Michael."

"Who's Michael?"

A faint smile appeared as he spoke, "Michael is, a very dear friend of mine. He was an English major, we likely would have never met if not for the tennis club. He can be a bit of a handful at times, but I'm grateful to have been able to meet him."

"It sounds like you really love him!" I hadn't realized I'd blurted that out until I saw Hokuto staring at me dumbfounded. A light blush rose up his face.

Oh.

_ Oh. _

There was an awkward silence between the two of us for what felt like an eternity. Taking a breath, I dared to break the silence, “I-i’m really sorry, I didn’t. Didn’t think before I opened my fat mouth.”

“No need to beat yourself up over it.” His voice took a gentle tone, “If you were wondering, I did confess to him back at university. We’ve been maintaining a long-distance relationship since.”

I smiled at him, “I’m happy for you two! Ah, I’m still sorry about just blurting that out…” 

Hokuto placed a hand on my head and lightly ruffled my hair, “Don’t worry about it, it won’t do you any good.”

~

The day went by fairly quickly after all that. Near the end of our outing, we decided to drop into the flower shop that Mr. Frog (as I had heard some kids earlier call the person in the frog costume) was standing in front of at the start of the day. It was a cute, quaint little shop filled to the brim with all kinds of flora. The clerk, a man with a gentle face and light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, was an extremely kind and helpful man. He also knew absolutely everything about each and every flower in the store, like you could point to one and he would tell you what it was and what its meaning was without even blinking. I decided to get a small bouquet for Mom, she loves flowers and always made sure we had some in the house.

“Would you like anything particular in the bouquet?” His voice was light, buoyant even.

“Peonies, they're her favorite!” I replied, “And whatever you feel would work, but no lilies please! She’s allergic.”

“Noted and noted!” he let out a short giggle, “Your mother must be a strong woman.”

A puzzled look made its way across my face, "How do you know? I mean she is but, you get what I mean."

"Peonies mean bravery." He explained as he gathered together several peonies and some other flowers. "From my experience, a person's favorite flower can tell a lot about their character."

My curiosity was piqued. "Really now? My favorite flower is the rose, what does that say about me?"

"Roses, huh? Depending on the color, they could mean various things." The clerk replied as he began to arrange the bouquet.

I eyed the balloon I got earlier, "Let's go with my favorite color then, blue."

He didn't even blink, "Blue roses, secret love. Some even interpret it as unattainable love as the color can't be produced naturally in roses." Something about that seemed to make time slow down for me. Subconsciously, I twisted my wrist around to look at the photo of 765's Makoto that I set as my lockscreen. A small smirk crossed the clerk's face, "Did I hit the nail on the head?"

Feeling heat rush up to my cheeks, I shoved my phone back in my pocket, "I-it's not a big deal! Not like she'd know I exist anyw-" I cut myself off before I could dig my grave any further.

"Anyway!" He held up the now-finished bouquet. A beautiful assortment of light pink peonies and light purple hydrangeas. "Your total comes to 8200 yen."

I swore I felt my brain short circuit momentarily at the price. God, I always forget just how much more expensive it is to get a bouquet from a florist than the grocery store or something. I reached into my pocket to check how much I had, but suddenly a rather large bouquet of blue roses entered my vision. "I'll be paying for her bouquet." Hokuto placed the roses on the counter, then cocked his head towards me, "Do you think you could get some drinks from the conbini, Rose?"

Hearing Hokuto casually address me by my first name caught me off guard, but I played along. "No problem, Nii-chan!" I quickly skipped out of the shop. Oh the look on his face I'll savor 'til the end of time.

~

The convenience store was only a few doors away from the flower shop. As I stepped inside, I saw a young golden-haired boy talking a mile a minute with the cashier, an exhausted looking brunet. Other than the three of us, it was fairly empty in the store.

“Then and-!” The boy stopped when he realized I had entered. His eyes seemed to brighten up when he saw me, too. “Kyouji, Kyouji!” he pointed at me, “It her! Pretty lady from afternoon!”

The cashier, Kyouji, sighed, “Pierre, it’s rude to point at strangers like that.” 

Paying him no mind, the boy bounded over to me. “Balloon gave happy smile! Right?” he pointed up at my balloon.

Wait a damn minute was the guy in the frog suit this kid? Add that to the list of things I didn’t expect today. His eyes were purple and sparkling, his blond hair fluffy as can be. Plus that wide smile on his face, it took every ounce of willpower in my being to not just hug him on the spot.

Is it legal for me to adopt a kid I’ve just met? Can teenagers even adopt children??

“Uh, Miss? He does have a family.”

Oh fucking shit I said that out loud, didn’t I. I gave the cashier an embarrassed look, “Pl-please just pretend that never happened. I wasn’t being serious!”

“It’s fine, he has that kind of effect on people.” he answered with a wave of his hand. 

I chuckled, “With that kind of charm, he’d be a perfect idol!”

Pierre perked up at my words, “Idols! Want to be idols! With Kyouji and Minori!” I’m not sure how it was possible but his smile grew bigger than it already was. “Idols, give everyone happy smile!”

“Yes!” My God I would die for this child. I rifled through my pockets, “Actually, I’m a producer with an agency called 315 Productions!” I finally fished out a few business cards, handing one to Pierre, “Today’s my day off, ironically, but you can come in tomorrow and we could talk this over!”

His eyes sparkled like Christmas lights, “Kyouji! Kyouji!” He showed the card to him, “Lucky chance, this is!”

If life were an anime, this would be where the giant sweatdrop appears on poor Kyouji. He took the card from Pierre, “I’ll talk with Minori-san about it first. Though, I get the feeling he’d be just like you.”

“Yahoo!” Pierre spun back around and grabbed my hands, “Thanks very much, pretty lady!”

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Hug. “Call me Rose! Yamada Rose!”

~

“You really didn’t have to do that, you know.” I said as I took my bouquet from Hokuto.

“Nonsense,” he waggled a finger, “I did it because I wanted to. Besides, based on the look on your face, you likely didn’t have enough to pay for it anyway.”

I lightly punched his arm. “Well excuse me for being poor!” I laughed, “Though what I want to know is what you’re doing with those.” I gestured to the bouquet of blue roses sticking out of a paper bag with the flower shop’s logo on it.

He gave me a soft smile, “For Michael, I think I’ll pay him a visit after this.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“Although,” He took the bouquet out of the bag and handed it to me, “this is for you.”

With a puzzled expression, I took the bag and looked inside. A tiny arrangement of pink roses.

Confidence, happiness, and trust.

I could only guess it was his way of accepting me as Jupiter’s new producer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck this is long, I didn't mean to make it this long

That day after school, I immediately ran over to the office. I already called Mom to tell her about the casting. However, I wanted to tell the boys in person rather than text or email or fucking whatever. "Guys! Guys!" I threw open the door, "I have big ne-" My words died on my tongue when I saw Ishikawa and a red-haired man I didn't recognize having some kind of meeting. Sheepishly, I took a step back, "Ah. Uh, um, am I interrupting?"

"Actually," Ishikawa said, "you arrived at the perfect time! There should be two more visitors arriving soon!" As soon as they had said it, the buzzer rang.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "Must be 'em, I'll go check." As I went to do just that, bits of Ishikawa’s and the man’s conversation drifted over to my ears. Something about a contract and nullifying it if the man wasn’t interested. On the other side of the door were two men, one who was almost six feet tall (slightly shorter than my brother) with fluffy, light brown hair; and the other one was-

“You...” Kaoru stared at me for a moment, “I knew you were young but I didn’t think you were still in high school.”

That’s right, when I scouted him I was wearing more professional attire. “Y-yeah, tall for my age, huh?” I nervously chuckled, “A-anyway! Pl-please come inside!”

Ishikawa stood up as I closed the door behind us. “Welcome, Sakuraba Kaoru-san! Kashiwagi Tsubasa-san!” They turned to the red-haired man and gestured to the newcomers, “Tendou-san, these two are new idols who are here to sign a contract, much like yourself.” So that’s what that man, Tendou-san, is here for. And I guess Ishikawa must have scouted Tsubasa themselves.

Tendou-san stood up as well. “Ah, nice to meet you all. Wait a second!” He turned to Ishikawa, “I haven’t even decided if I will yet! I mean, I’m already twenty-eight and I don’t know a thing about being an idol!”

“If you don’t have any motivation, then why don’t you leave?”

The room grew so quiet that the sound of a dropped pin would echo. I stared at Kaoru in disbelief. Tendou-san’s gaze followed mine, “What was that?”

He crossed his arms, “I said leave.”

“I don’t even know you.” His eyebrows furrowed, “What gives you the right to be so rude?” Oh no, _ oh no. _

“H-hey!” Tsubusa tried to quell them, “Both of you, we just met, so why don’t we calm down and talk-”

Kaoru ignored him, “This is a place for people who are working hard to make their dreams come true.” He looked straight at Tendou-san, “Why is a guy like you even here?”

His eyes widened, then he went to glaring at Kaoru. “I _ do _ have a dream!” Tendou-san grabbed at his red scarf. “But… ”a sorrowful expression appeared on his face as he looked down at it, “Right now, I…” 

Everyone went quiet once more. There was tension in the air, though less severe than when their argument was at its worst. I couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Tendou-san,” my voice trembled slightly, but I didn’t give a shit, “I, I completely understand how you feel right now. Hell, I didn’t even _ like _ idols when I was offered this job.” I took a breath before continuing, “But, please don’t force yourself to make a decision. Take as much time as you need.”

A beat, a small blush made its way across Tendou-san’s face. “Th-thank you, I’ll keep that in mind, uh…” 

“Yamada Rose, a producer here. Rose is fine.” I extended a hand to him, “Nice to meet you.”

“Tendou Teru.” He shook my hand, “Pleased to meet you too, Rose-san.”

“Oh! I nearly forgot!” I turned my head to Ishikawa, “I’m not gonna be as available for the next few weeks. I just found out today that I got the lead for a show at school. In fact that’s the whole reason I stopped by today.”

They gave me a smile, “Congratulations! I’ll be sure to pass the news to everyone else! Now then,” they nodded towards the other three men, “Are the rest of you all free now?”

~

“Yamada? Earth to Yamada?” A hand appeared in front of my face. “Anyone home?”

After a few moments of blinking, I looked up at whoever was trying to talk to me. My sole friend in this whole school, or the only person who bothered to interact with me on a daily basis, Horikawa Shinju. I'm about 90% sure that she's surgically attached to her headphones. "Hm?"

"I've been asking you for the past seven minutes if everything's ok." Shinju sighed, brushing her ponytail off her shoulder, "You've been really spacey, y'know?"

I sank down in my chair, "Is it really that bad?"

She leaned towards me, putting a hand on my desk, "I'm just making sure my lead isn't burning herself out. Besides, why wouldn't I be concerned for my friend?" 

"Says the girl who abandoned me right as we were next in line for the ferris wheel." I grumbled.

"Hey, that was two years ago!" Shinju fell back into her chair, "Besides, I had just gotten a buzz that a show I was involved with needed me to take the place of an actor who got hurt."

"You know that I'm afraid of heights!"

"And didn't I make it up to you afterwards by helping you kick ass at bumper cars?"

She was right, "Touché, Horikawa-senpai."

Shinju dryly laughed, "Seriously though, are you sure you ain't overworking yourself?" Her eyebrows furrowed from concern, "If the play and your part-time job are conflicting, I can make adjustments to your schedule. Although, there's only so much your kind director can do for her leading lady."

Part-time job, that's what I had put down on the conflict sheet. And what I'd been telling her ever since I started working at the agency. Though, I feel bad lying to her about it. I doubt she'd try to do something like use me for free concert tickets, but who's to say someone won't overhear and do just that? "I'm fine, I swear." I assured her.

A hint of skepticism appeared on her face for a moment, then she sighed, "If you say so."

"Oi, Yamada!" A boy called out to me from the front of the room, "You got a visitor!"

“You? Having a visitor?” Shinju commented, “Talk about a rare occurrence.”

Rolling my eyes, I ignored her as I walked over to the front. The boy pointed out the door, “He’s waiting right out in the hall.” He?

A sinking feeling entered my gut as I peered out. The living confirmation of that sinking feeling waved at me, “Heyo, Produ-!”

I shot over and covered Shouta’s mouth with both hands (thank God he at least came in a disguise), “What the absolute _ fuck _ are you doing here?!”

“First of all, rude!” He indignantly pulled my hands off, “Second of all, I wanted to stop by!”

“Don’t you have school, too?” I hissed.

He shrugged, “Don’t like anyone there anyway.”

Jesus Christ, I mean big mood, but still! I let out a frustrated sigh, “And why did you decide to come here of all places?!”

“Ishi-san told us about you getting the lead in your show,” he put his arms behind his head, “and I wanted to watch you rehearse!”

I glared daggers at him, “If you weren’t a famous idol, I would murder you right now.”

“Love you, too!”

~

“Right on time, Yamada!” Shinju greeted me as we entered the auditorium, “Oh, who’s the kid?”

Shit shit shit fuck, “He’s, uh, my little cousin! He’s visiting my family for a bit!”

She stood up, “Well, nice to meet you…?”

Shouta and I stared at each for half a second before turning back to Shinju. “My name’s, uh...”

“Yoshitsugu!” I blurted out in a panic.

He looked at me like I had six heads, but then gave up, “Yeah! Yamada Yoshitsugu!”

“Nice to meet you, Tsugu.” She lightly ruffled his hair.

I feigned offense, “You nickname my cousin, whom you’ve only just met, but not your dear friend of four years?”

Shinju laughed, “I’m just too used to calling you Yamada. Besides, it’d be confusing if I call him Yamada too.”

“Fair point.”

“Anywho,” she cocked her head towards Shouta, “Feel free to grab a front row seat and watch, only time the best seats are available!”

“Senpai!” One of the kids working crew stuck their head out from the wings, “Props needs to talk with you!”

She sighed, “And that’s my cue to go.” With a flick of her ponytail, she leapt onstage.

Shouta turned back to me as she did that, “Really? Yamada Yoshitsugu?”

“It was the first name that I could think of!” I eyed up at the wing to make sure she was out of earshot.

“It sounds dumb!” he whined.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, “If you didn’t decide to drop in randomly, we wouldn’t have had to do this!” We stood there glaring at each other for about half a minute before we both just burst out laughing. “God,” I managed to get out as my laughter died down, “it really feels like I have a little brother now.”

“And I was just thinking about how much like one of my sisters you are!” He said between giggles.

“Alright, everybody look alive!” Shinju walked back onstage, “We got a rehearsal to finally start!”

~

Sniffling, I wiped at my eye with the back of my hand, “M-my wicked stepsisters and step-mother tore my gown to pieces! Now I can’t go to the ball!”

“Now, now, Dearie. Do not fret yourself, your fairy godmother shall mend what is-”

“What doing, you two?” Pierre’s head popped up from behind the couch, causing Shouta to drop the script.

I got up to pick up the script, “He’s helping me with my lines for my show.”

Shouta took it from my hands, "You messed up a line by the way."

"Really?" I groaned.

He pointed to the line in the script, "It's ‘to shreds,’ not pieces."

I shrugged, “Eh, it’s close enough.”

“Producer and Shouta, may watch?”

“Of course, go ahead!” I gave Pierre a warm smile.

His eyes lit up as he nearly leapt onto the couch next to Shouta. “So you shoo away Hokuto-kun and Kyouji-san but you let Pierre-san stay?” Shouta remarked snidely, “Are you playing favorites, Rose-san?”

“Less talking, more cuing!” Note to self, murder Shouta before going home.

Pierre leaned forward, “Show you doing, what it is?”

“She’s Cinderella.” Shouta held the script up to him.

A wide grin appeared on my face, “My first lead role since I was ten!”

“Lead,” Pierre put a finger to his chin, “that mean Producer is Cinderella!”

“It’s been a dream role of mine, actually.” I chuckled with a hint of embarrassment.

His blue eyes sparkled, “Princess too, you are!”

I laughed, but then paused, “Wait, what do you mean by ‘too?’”

“Oh!” Pierre’s eyes widened as he clapped his hands over his mouth.

Shouta blinked, “Somethin' wrong, Pierre-san?”

He shook his head at the speed of light, “Tell anyone, I mustn’t! Big secret” His voice was slightly muffled by his hands.

"Pierre? Is everything alright?" Pierre slowly brought his hands away from his face. "I-if you don't feel comfortable telling us that's completely f-fine too!"

Blue eyes flitted to the back of the room, then back to Shouta and I. "Ok to tell, so I believe. No, should tell!" His voice was filled with determination (God he's so damn cute I just wanna squish him!), "From across sea, Kaerre and I come! I is prince from home!"

It took both Shouta and I a moment to process this newfound information. "EHHH?!" We yelled at the same time, "You/I hired a prince?!"

Pierre nodded with a smile. Just who the fuck did I scout??

~

“Has anyone seen my mascara?”

“Right here!” The girl playing my fairy godmother tossed me the tube.

I just barely caught it, “Thank you!”

“House opens in half an hour!” A girl on crew yelled out, “Everyone get your asses out for warmups!”

“I’ll be out soon, just gotta finish my makeup!” I called out to the other girls as they left our “dressing room” (really just a classroom that we’re allowed to use for the show).

The room grew quieter as I carefully put on my mascara. Footsteps faded out while I touched up my lipsti-

_ What the fuck are you doing? _

My hand went rigid.

_ You? A leading role? What a fucking joke! _

I carefully put my makeup back in my bag… Why is my hand shaking?

_ You’re not good enough for this. You’ll just fuck it all up like you always do. _

…

_ Just accept that you’ll never live up to their expectations. _

…Shut up.

_ Just accept that you’re a fucking fail-I SAID SHUT U- _

“Rose-san?” 

My head snapped up towards the source of the voice. “What are you doing here?”

Shouta slowly stepped inside, “Shinju-san sent me to see what was keeping you. Everything alright?”

“Y-yeah,” Fucking Hell, my voice cracked, “I’m alright!”

He gave me a look, “You’re lying, aren’t you?” An uncomfortable silence followed suit. I looked down at my shoes. “...Need a hug?”

I nodded, “I th-think I need that r-right now…” My throat felt tight, tears began to prick at the corner of my eyes.

“Come over here then.” He spread out his arms. “C’mon, it’s ok!”

Shakily, I got up from the chair and took a few steps over to him. I’m not sure what it was exactly that finally hit the last switch, but the tears just flowed right out. It took a lot in me to not bury my face into his shoulder (the only thing worse than running makeup, is makeup on clothing) in between choked sobs. Shouta didn't say a word, he simply rubbed circles into my back.

"Feeling better?" His voice took on a gentle tone.

Sniffling, I replied, "Yeah, thank you…" 

"No problemo!" He gave me a toothy grin, "Back when we first debuted, Touma-kun would have attacks like that before shows a whole lot! Hugs were the go-to for calming him down."

"Smart move." I chuckled, then I realized the time, "Oh fuck! The show's starting soon! And my makeup's been messed up by crying!"

"I'll help you get yourself together!"

"Thanks a million!"

~

After getting changed back into my uniform and taking off my makeup, I left the "dressing room" and came face to face with a large bouquet of pink and blue roses. Shouta's head poked out from the side of it, "Minori-san dropped this off; it's from everyone at the office to you!"

"Oh wow, it's beautiful!" I gently took the bouquet from him, "Minori-san really outdid himself this time!"

Shouta opened his mouth and- "THERE SHE IS!"

"Wait up, Shiki!"

"Shiki-kun!"

"Shiki… Wait…!"

"Guys!"

Five boys ran up to us; the front-runner being a first-year boy with spiky black hair and pink glasses, followed by a second-year with green hair, another second-year with neat black hair, a silver-haired second-year trailing behind him, anchoring them was a boy with messy orange hair who looked like a third-year (he also looked kinda like the Aoi twins, except taller).

“We, hah, saw your class’s show!” The green-haired kid panted out. “And Shi-”

The boy with the pink glasses pushed himself to the front of the group, “YOU WERE SO HYPER MEGA AWESOME!!”

Holy shit this kid certainly has presence, “Th-thank you?”

“Give her some space, Shiki-kun!” The other black-haired boy pulled him back, “I’m so sorry about him. He can be extremely overbearing.”

Pink glasses’s (or Shiki’s) face fell, “Eh?! Juncchi! Am I really?!” 

The third(?)-year slinked up front as the first-years began to squabble, “You were a great Cinderella.”

“Ah, thank you…?”

“Wakazato Haruna.” He shifted his weight from one foot, “The five of us are a band and we decided to stop by since Shiki recognized you.”

I tilted my head in confusion, “What do you mean ‘recognized me?’ I’ve only just met him. Besides, I’m a third-year, we don’t have any classes together.”

“Don’tcha remember that math test, Senpai?” Shiki poked his head in, “That really hard one from, like, last month?”

A few moments of digging through memories later, it hit me. “You’re the kid who came up to me and said you probably bombed too!”

Shiki rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I even went to extra help and still got a super-mega low score...” ...Prolly a bad time to mention that I ended up scoring not too badly on that test. “Anywho!” He perked back up, “You were really, really, hyper-max amazing, Senpai! Oh! Name’s Iseya Shiki, by the way!”

“Ah, nice to meet you!” I handed the flowers back to Shouta so I could do a small bow, “I’m Yamada Rose.” God, this guy certainly has presence. He’d be really good as an idol.

“...Idol?” I nearly jumped out of my skin at the new voice. Turning around, the silver-haired boy was standing beside Shouta. “What do you mean by that?”

Shit, I thought out loud again. “A-ah, th-that…!”

Shiki laughed, “You almost sounded like you were trying to scout me or something, Yamada-senpai!” He reached out a hand to put on my shoulder, but he stretched it out too far and accidentally smacked the bouquet out of Shouta’s hands. “Oops! Sorry about tha…!” He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes met Shouta’s, “HOLY SHIT!”

The green-haired kid leaned over, “What is it, Shiki?” His eyes widened, “I-is that Mitarai Shouta?!”

Shit shit shit fuck fuck shit fuck shit fuck.

“Welp!” Shouta picked the bouquet up, “Cat’s out of the bag now!”

“Shouta, quiet!” I scolded through gritted teeth.

The other black-haired kid (Juncchi? That’s what Shiki called him) piped up, “How in the world do you know a member of Jupiter, Senpai?”

“It’s, a very long story...”

~

"I'm so, so, so sorry for being late!" I panted, "You wouldn't believe it! Thanks to Shouta, I managed to scout my school's light music club for the agency!"

Ishikawa clapped their hands together, "That's great news! I actually scouted some people myself. Get this, they're all former teachers!"

"Hell yeah!" I flopped down on the nearest chair, "Anyway, what is it you needed to discuss with me?"

Sparks ignited in their eyes, "We just got clearance from Shachou to begin creating units!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually did get a lead role in the school play after writing this. Coincidence?  
Some notes  
-Shinju is actually my A3 insert OC and I love her  
-Yes the fake name for Shouta is a reference to his seiyuu


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the time it took me to finish this chapter a fucking pandemic started

"We just got clearance from Shachou to begin creating units!" Excitement filled Ishikawa’s voice.

“That’s awesome!” I beamed, “It’s a good thing the kids from my school already have a name for their group.”

They picked up a pen, “What is it?”

“HighxJoker! There’s an ‘x’ in between it.”

Ishikawa scribbled it down, then wrote down something else. They tapped at it with the pen, “The three teachers I scouted will be their own unit. One of them suggested this as their unit name.”

I peered over at what they wrote, “S. E. M?”

“Science, English, and mathematics.” They elaborated, “Since those were the subjects they all used to teach.”

“Ah, clever!” I nodded. “Since they all already know each other, how about putting the three I scouted from the shopping center together?”

They hummed, “Perfect! How about something like this?” They scribbled down the word, “Beit.” “Pronounced like bai-to! I got it from arbeit; German for working.”

Rolling my eyes at the wordplay, I gave them a thumbs up. “Ten outta ten. Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask this. Have those twins I scouted a few weeks ago gotten back to us at all?”

Ishikawa grinned, “Actually, they stopped by the other day! They said they’d like to join as a duo unit!”

This day just keeps on getting better and better! “Did either of them have ideas for a unit name?”

They shook their head, “No. I’ve been trying to think of one since yesterday but I keep drawing blanks.”

We both sat in silence for a few minutes with an occasional “hmm,” or groan. “What was their team called again?” I asked, “Maybe we can use it as inspiration or something.”

“They were with Wings F.C., if I recall correctly.” Ishikawa thought for a moment, “Anything?”

I shook my head, “We can table it for now, is there anything else?”

“Actually, there is one last unit.” They tapped the pen, “Do you remember Tendou-san?”

I nodded. “I’m thinking about putting him, Sakuraba-san, and Kashiwagi-san in a unit together.” Ishikawa wrote down something, “I’m also thinking about having him be the unit’s leader.”

“Are you sure about putting Tendou-san and Sakuraba-san together?” I asked, “I mean, with how their initial meeting went...”

They gave me a knowing look, “I know, but their behavior around each has improved vastly since then. I have confidence that the three of them will be a success.”

“So, you got anything for their unit name?”

“Actually,” they put the pen down, “I want you to decide that; furthermore, I want you to produce them!”

If I had a drink, I would have done a spit take. “I-Ishi!” I slammed my hands on the table, “Are you fuckin’ serious?! How am I supposed to produce a whole unit!”

“You did just fine with the members of Jupiter.” Ishikawa pointed out.

I sighed, putting a hand on my face, “There’s a huge ass difference between producing a single person and producing three of them!”

Ishikawa put a hand up, “Rose,” their voice took a gentle tone, “I’m doing this because I’m confident in your abilities. How about you shadow them for a few days? If you feel it to be too overwhelming, you can turn down the position.”

I took a moment to think it over, then I looked right at them, “Deal!”

~

Why did I think this’d be a good idea? What the fuck was I thinking? I can’t do this!

“And so that’s why you-”

“Oh, someone’s already here?” This is it, this is where I die.

I turned around and faced my fate. “G-good morning!” My eyes were glued to my feet as I bowed.

“Is there any reason you’re staring at the floor?” Kaoru’s sigh was starting to become a familiar sound to me.

My neck unstuck itself and shot up, “A-ah! I, uh, um...”

Teru pushed past him and gently put a hand on my head, ruffling my hair a little. “It's ok if you're nervous!” He bent down and whispered (well, more stage-whispered), "Besides, I bet he's just as nervous as you are."

Kaoru huffed, "I heard that and I am not."

"Oh really now?" Is that a teasing tone I hear?

"Yes, really." The bespectacled man rolled his eyes.

A smug expression appeared on Teru's face, "Then what would you call what happened back in the lobby?"

Kaoru glared at him as a light flush rose up, "Why you…!"

...And there they go off on another squabble. Thankfully, it was less like watching a cat and dog going at each other's throats and more teasing (whether malicious or playful is up for debate, I want to think playful).

"Let's just let them blow off some steam." I turned to Tsubasa, "I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves to each other. I'm Yamada Rose, one of the producers."

“Kashiwagi Tsubasa, it’s nice to meet you!” He gave a small bow, “I’m really sorry about Teru-san and Kaoru-san!”

I eyed the Gruesome Twosome, then looked back at Tsubasa, “No need to apologize!”

He let out a sigh of relief, “There are certainly some very interesting people here.”

I nodded in agreement, “Sakuraba-san was a doctor at a hospital I visited with Touma. I believe Ishi said Tendou-san was a lawyer, too.”

"While I've seen many teenage idols, I've never seen a teenage producer before either." Tsubasa chuckled, "Then again, I don't think there's many idols who used to be pilots either."

Information: Get. "A pilot? How'd you get roped into this?"

"Ishikawa-san scouted me at the airport." Figures. "How about you?"

Cue the giant sweatdrop like in anime, "Shachou seeked me out himself for whatever reason, I still don't know why."

“He must have had his own reason to recruit you.” Tsubasa smiled.

Before I could reply, the dance instructor showed up and it was time for the first joint lesson to start.

~

“Is everything ok?”

I blinked for a moment, then looked up, “Yeah, why?”

Mom put her tea down, “You were staring off with a troubled look. Is something going on?”

I sighed, “It’s somethin’ with work.”

“It’s not interfering with school, is it?” Worry laced her voice.

“No, no that’s not it at all!” I assured her, “It’s just, this one assignment Ishi gave me.” She gave me a weird look, “Ishikawa-san. They’re the one with the dark gray hair in the little ponytail.”

“Ah so.” Mom nodded, “What is this assignment?”

There’s no point in hiding it, “They want me to both produce and name a new unit.”

She furrowed her brows in concern, “That’s a huge amount of responsibility, especially for someone your age.”

I nodded, “I know. I think with some time and effort, they could be a successful team but...”

“But what, Honey?”

My shoulders slumped, “Only two out of the three of them are willing to work together. Sakuraba-san is being more stubborn than a mule and refusing to work with them!” I groaned, “If things continue like this, we’ll never get anywhere!”

We just sat there on the couch in silence for what felt like hours. Mom took a sip of her tea, “I think you should go and talk to him tomorrow. Someone needs to make the first step, after all.” 

Seems like tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

~

"Sakuraba-san?" I approached him after the joint practice ended for the day, "Can we talk for a moment?"

He looked at me, "What do you need?"

I took a breath, "It's about the assignment given to you three."

A long sigh, "Those two are some of the most frustrating people I've ever had to deal with. There is absolutely no way for me to complete this with th-"

"Have you tried actually talking to them?" I cut in, "You know, communicating with them instead of just blocking them out?" My tone and words were harsh, I admit, but sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire.

Kaoru paused at my statement. A ghost of a smirk crossed his features, "You sound exactly like Tendou, Yamada-kun." He turned on his heel.

"Hey, wait a minute! I ain't done talkin' to you!" ...And he's already gone. Fucking perfect. The next time I see him, he's fucking dead.

"Producer?" I looked behind me to see Teru. "Did I come at a bad time?"

I shook my head, "No, it's fine. Nothing to worry about." I gave him a smile, "Did you need something?"

"Actually..."

~

"Here's your extra large miso ramen!" The man behind the counter placed a bowl that just looking at gave me indigestion in front of Tsubasa. That man's stomach is a black hole, I swear to God. From the corner of my eye, I saw Teru making a similar look of disbelief.

Tsubasa's eyes twinkled like Christmas lights, "Let's eat!"

I picked up a few noodles of my shio ramen and sucked them right up; a delicious salty chicken flavor filling my mouth. “That’s... quite a bit of food you’ve got there, Kashiwagi-san.”

Teru picked up his chopsticks, “Tsubasa, I’m amazed you can eat so much even when you’re tired.”

“Practice made me hungry!” He replied with a mouth full of noodles.

A light, awkward chuckle, Teru brought some noodles to his lips, then paused. "Tsubasa, Rose." The two of us halted our eating to look at him, "About Sakuraba, what do you two think of him?"

We sat in silence for a few moments, pondering over the question. "I think Sakuraba-san is amazing." Tsubasa piped up, "If I do something wrong, he's very frank with me and he's very hard-working."

"Honestly, he can be a huge pain in the ass, but I don't hate the guy. Not often I come across someone as stubborn as me." I let out a small sigh, "I just wish he'd actually work with us."

Teru laughed, "That makes two of us!"

"Though," Tsubasa replied, "the fact that you, Sakuraba-san, and Rose-chan are with this agency, and the fact that we're aiming to be idols with Rose-chan as our producer." A soft smile appeared, "It makes me so happy!"

"Tsubasa..." He trailed off, "...His dream to become an idol is the same as ours, isn't it? Then there isn't any time to stop!" Determination filled his voice as he said that.

A small smile perked at my lips, "You've been thinking quite a bit too, Tendou-san."

That seemed to take him aback, "Uh, well, I guess? Also, you can call me Teru, it's fine." He put a hand to his chin, "The man who'll become the First Star in the idol industry-"

"Sorry for the wait!" A heaping bowl of rice and the server's voice cut in, "Extra large rice!"

Tsubasa's eyes twinkled as he let out a delighted noise. “Oh,” he turned his gaze back to Teru, “what were you saying, Teru-san?”

“I’m the man who’ll be-”

“Here’s your gyoza!” There’s more?!

“I’m the man-”

“Extra large fried rice, here you go!” How much fucking food did he order, Christ.

“I am-!” After a good few seconds, Teru just gave up. “Nevermind.” He said defeatedly.

“Guess practice really did leave you hungry, Kashiwagi-san...” I awkwardly chuckled. I picked up my glass, put it to my lips, then realized it was empty. “Pardon me!” I called out to the server, “May I get a refill?”

The man behind the counter turned with a hum, “Comin’ right up, Miss!”

I thanked him and put my glass back down. “I’m very sorry if my companions have caused you any trouble or whatnot.” I glanced over at a very happy Tsubasa feasting away and Teru with his head still low.

He let out a hearty laugh, “No need to apologize! It’s nice when it’s lively!”

“That’s a relief!” I sighed.

He pulled out a water pitcher and began pouring it into my glass, “If you don’t mind me pryin’, what’s your relationship with those two?”

“The three of us are coworkers.” I said, “We all work together at an entertainment agency.”

“I did overhear y’all talking about idols, though if I didn't know any better I would've thought you were the idol.” He commented, putting down the pitcher.

I grabbed my now full glass and took a sip, “Seems like that at first glance, right? By the way,” I put my glass back down, “what’s your name, mister?”

“Enjoji Michiru, an’ you?”

“Yamada Rose.” I answered, “You the owner? You’re the only worker here, after all.”

Michiru shook his head, “Oyassan runs the place, but he’s out right now.” His expression fell, “Though, ‘m not sure how much longer we’ll be ‘round.”

I gave him a puzzled look, “What do you mean? With food this good, I’d be shocked if business was running that low.”

“Nah, it’s not that.” He sighed, “Building’s goin’ to be bought out and torn down. Everyone’s counting down the days ‘til every store here’s forced out.”

I winced, “Christ, that’s really rough.”

“Only way to prevent it is if someone else buys out the building.” A dry chuckle, "Wish I could, but don't have nearly enough cash to."

The metaphorical gears whirred in my head. "Say," I leaned forward, digging into my pocket, "what if you become an idol with our agency?"

~

That night was bitterly cold, hard to believe just the other day we didn’t even need jackets. “I’m really sorry about draggin’ you with me.” I gave Teru an apologetic look.

“It’s no problem at all!” He assured me, “Besides, it’s nice to be able to walk with someone.”

“That and my mom would kill us if I was out this late by myself.”

He awkwardly laughed, “That too.”

We walked in silence for a bit. Only the sounds of our footsteps and the occasional car whizzing past us. “So,” I spoke up, “how did you and Ishi meet each other, anyway?”

Teru paused, “Well, we first met at a bar the day I was let go from my firm.”

“Let go?”

“I used to be a lawyer.” He explained, “I was assigned to represent this kid in a theft case; promised him that I’d protect him no matter what. Though,” sadness reflected in his eyes, “the firm suddenly dropped the case.”

My eyes widened, “Why did they do that?!”

“They claimed that something went against the firm’s policy. Not too long afterwards, I was let go too.”

“That’s really rough...”

“Although,” He cocked his head towards me and smiled, “if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be here right now with you and the others.”

I returned his smile, “It’s as the saying goes, ‘when one door closes, another opens.’”

Our conversation had turned to much lighter topics. School life for me, how he was handling the lessons. By chance, I glanced across the street at the park. Wait a moment, was that…?

Before I could even think, I had ran across the crosswalk to the park. Not even acknowledging Teru calling out to me about “what the Hell are you doing?!” A soft “damn it” had drifted to my ears as I got closer. I finally came to a stop in front of the little gazebo, right beside a worn-out Kaoru crumpled to the ground. Within moments he looked up at me.

Frantic footsteps came from behind me, “Jesus Christ, don’t scare me like that! What if a car had… O-oh.” Teru caught his breath and then saw Kaoru too.

“Really,” I breathed out, “to think you’d be practicing here of all places.”

Kaoru gave us a blank look before getting up. “Wait!” Teru lunged forward and grabbed him by the wrist.

He didn’t respond right away, “...You’re interrupting my practice.”

“Sakuraba-san, would you please just listen to us?” I said.

Teru cut in, “If we don’t complete the assignment, we can’t go further. It’s pointless if only one or two of us can do it!” His grip tightened on Kaoru’s wrist, “It has to be the three of us!”

No response…

“Sakuraba-san! Teru-san! Rose-chan!”

The three of us looked up to see Tsubasa near the top of some stairs leading from a nearby bridge to the park. “Now the gang’s all here!” I exclaimed as he ran down to us.

“I saw you two sprint across the street out of nowhere and then followed” Tsubasa panted, referring to Teru and I. He turned towards Kaoru “I want us to work together, the three of us! Sakuraba-san, I… I’m still nowhere close, but I think even I can contribute, so...”

“All three of us want to become idols.” Teru turned to the bespectacled man as well, “Please lend us your strength.”

Kaoru let out a small sigh, “Do what you want.”

Tsubasa and Teru exchanged looks of triumphanence. A grin spread across my own face, “Alright, boys, let’s get this shit started!”

~

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!” The dance instructor clapped her hands to the beat of her words. Just watching the three of them practice was enough to make me feel all tuckered out, and I was just sitting down! She hummed in thought, then clapped once more, “I guess it’s ok.”

Their faces lit up one by one. “We did it!”

“Hooray!”

Teru and Tsubasa high-fived one another. Kaoru had a small smile on his face, but it was wiped away soon after the other two had noticed. “We know you’re happy, don’t be embarrassed!” Teru remarked.

I got up from my chair and stretched, “Congrats, guys!”

Tsubasa beamed, “We did it, Kaoru-san!”

Kaoru kept his gaze away from us. “Your voice isn’t bad.” He said suddenly, surprising Tsubasa, “You just have to sing with confidence.”

His eyes twinkled, “Yes, I will from now on!”

“What, just Tsubasa?” A miffed expression appeared on Teru’s face, “Don’t you have any advice for me?”

“I don’t have time to give you any advice.”

“What’s your problem?!”

I sighed, “Boys, settle down, please. This is a time for celebration!”

“Producer!” Teru turned to me, “This is nothing. I can still keep going!”

Tsubasa nodded, “I’m up for more, too.”

“All we did was finish one assignment.” Kaoru stated matter-of-factly, “There’s no time to waste.”

“I understand, that’s why I have important news!” I couldn’t help but grin, “From now on, the three of you will be a unit together!”

“...huh?”

“A unit?!”

I clapped my hands together, “Yup! With Teru-san as the leader, I believe you guys would make a great team! And although it took me quite a while, I even came up with a unit name for y’all!” I did a quick pirouette and unfurled the little banner Mom helped me make, “‘Dramatic Stars!’ So, whatcha think?”

“I wasn’t informed of any of this!” Oh boy, here we go again. “More importantly, since when were you the leader?” Kaoru glared at Teru.

“Hey, you...”

“Now, now...”

“Congratulations on the new unit!” A familiar, booming voice came from behind us. 

Tsubasa and Teru looked damn near ready to jump out of their own skin. I’d long gotten used to this song and dance, “Shachou! I thought Ishi said you’d be out all day for scouting!”

“Shachou?!” The three repeated in dumbfoundment.

I could almost see the sparkles around him as he spoke, “Right now, I am extremely moved!” He pumped his fist, “Our agency, 315 Productions’ first unit, Dramatic Passion Stars!” Shachou pointed directly at us, “I expect great things from you!”

“Um, Shachou-”

“Let us meet again!” He started to walk out of the room, “Boys be passion!”

“It’s, Dramatic Stars...”


End file.
